Speechwriting

Speechwriting is in our DNA. We’ve crafted thousands of
speeches for clients ranging from presidential candidates to
CEOs to Hollywood celebrities – each one tailored to a
specific audience and written in the speaker’s unique voice.

Our firm’s principal, Eric Bearse, served as Gov. Rick
Perry’s lead speechwriter for more than eight years,
crafting some of his most memorable messages. Our clients
comprise a Who’s Who of Texas leaders, including Gov. Greg
Abbott, Sen. John Cornyn and Speaker Joe Straus.

We’ve spent decades distilling extremely complex ideas into
simple sound bites that people understand, remember and act
upon. We can be conversational or technical, funny or
formal, depending on the client’s needs.

Our goal is to write in a speaker’s natural voice,
identifying his or her particular strengths and building a
message around the credibility of the messenger.

5 Rules of the Road for Effective Speeches:

Content is king. The prettiest prose can never mask a
lack of substance. Once you have something substantive to
say, crafting a good speech is simply a matter of choosing
the best words to connect that idea to the listener’s
deepest values.

A speech has more in common with a screenplay than a
book. It is intended to be heard and seen, not read. Long
sentences, technical language and meandering prose may be
acceptable in a book, but not in a speech.

Understand your audience. To connect with another
person, you have to truly understand their values,
concerns, hopes and fears – and that often requires a
great deal of research.

Start with what’s important, not at the beginning.
Develop your best arguments, sound bites and themes first.
Then focus on arrangement, transitions and logical flow.

People remember stories better than statistics. Want to
show them how smart you are? Recite a bunch of statistics.
Want them to relate to you and like you? Tell them
stories. And guess what they will remember better?
Stories.